Lamar Jackson Sharp During OTAs, Bradley Bozeman Is the Starting Center
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Bradley Bozeman took all of the reps as the starting center during the Ravens' first OTAs, deftly snapping the ball to quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Bozeman will indeed make the transition from left guard and help solidify a position where Baltimore had challenges last season, Baltimore coach John Harbaugh confirmed.
As for Jackson, he looked like he was in midseason form, slinging the ball around the field.
His favorite target was Marquise Brown, who is entering his third season and has stronghold as the Ravens No. 1 wide receiver. Brown made several acrobatic catches and routinely ran past defenders.
One area of initial concern was rookie first-round pick Rashod Bateman, who left the field for about 40 minutes during practice. He returned to the sidelines, but he did not practice.
"There is no injury, but we want to make sure it stays that way," Harbaugh said.
Rookie fourth-round pick Tylan Wallace was available and was seamless fielding punts and caught a couple of passes with the second team.
Miles Boykins, who is also entering his third season, added some muscle and made some solid catches during team drills. Undrafted tight end Eli Wolf was also impressive, catching several passes in traffic.
Newly acquired Sammy Watkins was not present during the media viewing, but second-year players James Proche and Devin Duvernay made the most of their extra reps.
With the addition of Bateman and Wallace in this year's draft, Baltimore now has seven players vying for perhaps six roster spots with Watkins, Brown, Boykin, Duvernay and Proche.
Nick Boyle, who is recovering from a season-ending knee injury, was in a t-shirt and John Harbaugh said he’ll probably hold him out of the OTAs so that Boyle can be ready for training camp.
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